The Rebel Gardener

Agave potatorum is the first Agave I ever bought, as I remember I was attracted to the bluey coloured leaves. The great thing about this Agave is that it is really easy to propagate from. It grows lots of pups and has been propagated from now about 3 times.
In the photo above the original Agave [...]

I’ve grown quite a few Alyogyne hakeifolias over the years. The best feature of this Alyogyne would have to be the deep purple tulip type flowers which occur on mass over summer. There aren’t many plants around that actually flower this well over summer so it may quite possibly be the only plant you may [...]

There are several varieties and subspecies of Banksia Ericifolia that are available in nurseries today. Some are more garden worthy than others. In my last garden I grew two different varieties. The first was a variety called “Little Eric”. This was a great little Banksia that only grows to about 1.5 m in height with [...]

Callistemon salignus is a bottlebrush that is probably the least spectacular of the bottlebrushes when in flower. The reason why I’ve included it here is because it has so many other special qualities. It grows fairly vigorously, it is very drought tolerant, can be grown in heavy soils that don’t drain very well and the [...]

Acacia glaucoptera is a small wattle with an unusual habit. It has long serrated foliage that is a dark greeny, bluey colour that intensifies to a dark red at the tips, so it looks quite attractive even when it’s not in flower.
It flowers over winter and has round yellow wattle type flowers that appear along [...]

Eucalyptus caesia “Silver Princess” is a small Eucalypt that can grow to only 5m which makes it ideal for smaller gardens. It has a very ornamental weeping habit and a silvery, white powdery substance that covers the branches and adds to it’s appeal. Red flowers appear during winter and although they are not as prolific [...]

Grevillea “Ned Kelly” (syn Masons Hybrid) is a hybrid between Grevillea banksii and Grevillea bipinnatifida. This was the plant that introduced me to Australian native plants as it was growing in my garden when we purchased that house in 1998.
It was just outside our dining room window and was always covered in birds feasting on [...]

Grevilleas – some of the myths exposed.
Grevilleas are a plant that have been used it gardens and landscaping for many years and despite this it still amazes me as to how many misconceptions there are about growing them, especially in the home garden.
They are a genus of plants that grow mostly on the continent of [...]

Eremophila, a very under rated Garden Plant
I never really appreciated what a great little garden plant the Eremophila was until I accidentally contaminated my garden soil with Phosphorus and killed most of my Banksias, Grevilleas and Proteas.
The summer of 2006/7 was quite dry and to make matters worse we had water restrictions in Melbourne and [...]

Banksia Seminuda, a little known Tree that is under used in Gardens.
This is a Banksia that I first saw in a book about 10 years ago. I found it interesting right from the start because it was one of the few Banksias that grow into a tall tree. It had a narrow upright habit and [...]